The method of this invention and the stippling mandrel or tool of which performs the method will be described as it pertains to dental techniques, a field of use in which it typically finds worthwhile application. It is unintended thereby to restrict this invention to the stated particular and exemplary field of use, as those skilled in the pertinent art will readily recognize other fields of application for this invention.
In the production of dentures it is common practice to form of acrylic material a saddle-like element which straddles the toothless ridge of a jaw or a portion thereof. This element forms the base for replacement teeth. Usually a buccal portion of the acrylic base material is visible from outside the mouth. To make this skirt-like buccal portion realistic, it is colored and textured to provide a life-like appearance. Texturing to simulate flesh is sometimes accomplished to a degree during molding of the plastic material. That is, the mold is carved or shaped and roughened to approximate the natural flesh appearance. However, when the acrylic material is removed from the mold, it usually has a too-smooth, glossy and light-reflective surface that generally signals its artificial nature to viewers. It is desirable to dull the acrylic surface. Stippling is one practiced but time-consuming process to provide the desired appearance. In the past some stippling has been accomplished with a burr which has been bent out of its shank axis. The burr is eccentrically rotated and caused to strike or impact the plastic surface. The cutters of the burr are intended to remove minute particles of the plastic surface to produce the dulled surface appearance. Such may be accomplished with a highly skilled craftsman employing extreme care. However, such an eccentric tool can all too easily scar or gouge the plastic surface, removing too large or too long particles, producing unsightliness or necessitating repair.
It has been the principal object of this invention to teach a method and disclose a stippling tool in mandrel form which is easy to practice and use by relatively unskilled cratfsmen; that will rapidly produce over a large surface a dulled stippled effect without unsightly scarring or gouging; that is readily adjusted to present sharpened burr cutters to the work surface and which may be readily replaced; that avoids the hazards of the prior eccentric stippling tools; and that is inexpensive to make and to equip with burr cutters. These and other advantages and objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in reference to the drawings accompanying this application.